MARINE BRYOZOA

The colonies of some marine bryozoa are polymorphic. Individual polypides are modified into a number of forms each with specialised functions. Autozooids live in rigid protective chambers, they feed the colony Vibracula wave about to stop sediment settling on it. Avicularia clean its surface. Kenozooids serve as stalks, roots and stolons. Ooenicia brood the eggs, which develop into free-swimming larvae for dispersal. Once settled the larva develops into an ‘ancestrula’, which buds asexually to form the new colony.